Notebook: Patriots strike gold with green QBs

Credit: Unknown

INTO THE FIRE: Rookie QB ﻿EJ Manuel will be up against Bill Belichick when he starts vs. the Pats Sunday.

Credit: Matt West

Steve Gregory

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FOXBORO — EJ Manuel and Geno Smith, welcome to the NFL.

Yes, Bill Belichick’s defense gets a crack at a pair of rookie quarterbacks right out of the gate this season. The Bills yesterday named Manuel their starter for Sunday’s season opener after a successful recovery from a knee procedure that derailed the final half of his preseason and training camp. The Jets, meanwhile, announced Smith would start over injured Mark Sanchez and backups Matt Simms and Brady Quinn.

Suffice to say, if the Patriots stay true to form, they have a terrific opportunity to pick up two wins in a span of five days.

Belichick’s Patriots teams are 13-4 against rookie quarterbacks since 2000, and that .765 winning percentage is far better than the .579 winning percentage the league as a whole has registered against rookie quarterbacks in the same span.

The Patriots have limited rookies to 278 completions in 516 attempts (53.9 percent) for 3,507 yards (206.3 per game), 16 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. Last season, the Patriots were 3-1 against rookies Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill (twice), who combined to complete 76-of-141 passes (53.7 percent) for 1,048 yards (262 per game), five touchdowns and four interceptions.

Rookie quarterbacks, of course, are usually at a great disadvantage in taking over bad teams and don’t have the experience to deal with adversity.

“You want to take advantage of him not being in an actual NFL game,” linebacker Dont’a Hightower said. “Preseason is still the NFL, but it’s not as fast. The first game is a lot faster. I remember last year, my first game was crazy as heck with how many people were flying around. But we still are going to do what we have to do. At the end of the day, we’re going to try to come after him.”

In that sense, Manuel is at an even greater disadvantage as it’s his first career start. Belichick’s Pats are 4-0 against rookies making their first start, having beaten Luke McCown (Browns, 2004), Matt Flynn (Packers, 2010), Tyler Palko (Chiefs, 2011) and Jake Locker (Titans, 2012). Those four combined to complete 91-of-140 passes (65.0 percent) for 987 yards (246.8 per game), six touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Manuel and the Bills realize the odds are against them, but they’re gearing up for the chance to make an early-season statement under a completely new regime.

“I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” Manuel said. “It’s a great opportunity to show what we have.”

Safety in numbers

The Chargers routinely tried to replace safety Steve Gregory, but the native New Yorker always found a way to find himself on the field in his six seasons in San Diego. Whether through the draft or free agency, the Chargers personnel department would typically look for upgrades, until Gregory proved to be the best option.

Something similar happened this offseason with the Patriots, who signed Adrian Wilson and used a third-round pick on Duron Harmon, but Gregory heads into Week 1 as the starter next to Devin McCourty.

That’s the way of the NFL. And Gregory pointed out, in fairness, that he was on the other end of that equation last year when he signed a $7 million deal with the Pats.

“I’ve kind of been going through a lot of things throughout my whole career,” Gregory said yesterday when asked if he was frustrated by the constant competition created by perennial offseason additions. “This is a competitive league. Every year, teams are going to try to get better, bring guys in to compete for spots on the roster. That’s the way it should be.

“There’s a lot of good football players out there, whether it’s bringing in young guys, bringing in veteran guys. At one point (in February 2012), I was the veteran guy that was brought in, too. You just have to go out every day, do your job, compete and prove that you belong in the situation that you’re in.”

Full speed ahead

Aaron Dobson, like many rookies, should get his chance to live out a dream on an NFL field Sunday. But it will also give him the opportunity to play with more consistency due to extended reps with Tom Brady and the starting offense. That, as much as anything, will aid his long-term development.

Dobson, who caught 11 passes for 150 yards in the preseason, is happy with his progress to this point.

“I feel like I was improving,” Dobson said of the preseason and training camp. “There’s a lot to learn here, a lot to learn in the playbook, routes and things like that, conversions, so I think I was improving every day.”